Jim Moriarty is the perfect antagonist. Hero Professor Moriarty Paradoxes of the film "Young Sherlock Holmes"

Professor Moriarty is main antagonist famous detective Sherlock Holmes. In all film adaptations, he invariably appears as the main opponent of the famous detective, although in the works of Arthur Conan Doyle he is a full-fledged character in only one story. He is also mentioned in two or three other stories by the writer. This article will give a brief description of this character, and also mentions his most successful incarnations on the screen.

In literature

Professor Moriarty is described by the author as a brilliant mathematician, a man of extraordinary mentality, who became the creator of an entire network of the criminal world operating in London and beyond. Sherlock Holmes himself spoke very highly of this man's intelligence. In one of his conversations with his friend and constant companion Dr. Watson, he says that Professor Moriarty is the Napoleon of the underworld.

He admits that this man has unusual thinking and a sharp mind. Holmes even admits that from time to time he even admired the skill with which he created his own criminal web. Therefore, he compares him to a spider, which itself does nothing, but only sets its threads in motion to commit another crime.

The reason for the character's popularity is that he is as smart as the famous detective, only he used his abilities for evil. Professor Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes, in the eyes of all lovers of the writer's stories, are the best literary antagonists. And although the detective had many other opponents in his works, it was Moriarty who became the most colorful. It is not for nothing that the detective mentions this man in several more stories, as if reminding readers of his power. The detective himself considered the victory over him the pinnacle of his career, since he really turned out to be the most dangerous criminal.

E. Scott

Professor Moriarty in all films about the famous detective appears as his main enemy. This is what the creators of the cult modern series “Sherlock” did, the action of which was transferred to our time. Each episode is an original adaptation of Doyle's works. And if in his story the sinister Professor Moriarty died at the Reichenbach Falls, then in the corresponding episode of the show he shot himself for reasons that are not entirely clear.

And although this hero died (at least, so say the creators of the show), the character played by E. Scott appears in the new seasons in flashbacks or the so-called palaces of Holmes's mind. This actor presented a different image of his hero. Instead of a gloomy and self-absorbed professor, he played a rather witty young man. However, the latter circumstance further strengthened the ominous image of the hero.

J. Harris

Many fans of Arthur Conan Doyle's books may be interested in the question of who plays Professor Moriarty. In the rather popular American film G. Ritchie, this character was embodied by the British actor Harris. According to most critics and viewers, he did an excellent job.

This character turned out to be very expressive and colorful and in some places even outshines the main character himself with his charisma. As portrayed by Harris, the character turned out to be something between classic and modern images.

V. Evgrafov

In the domestic film adaptation, one of the most memorable images is Professor Moriarty. The Russian actor who played his role embodied one of the most successful images of this character on the screen. Although this hero appeared in only one episode, nevertheless, as performed by Evgrafov, the character turned out to be one of the most memorable in world cinema. This artist is an excellent stuntman, so the scene of his character’s fight at the Reichenbach Falls became one of the most successful in the film.

It should be noted that the director somewhat deviated from the original text, in which there was no fight, but its introduction into the film made the movie even more spectacular and dramatic, especially since the actors played it perfectly. It should be noted here that Evgrafov’s appearance fully corresponds to the book description given by the author in the story. In addition, the artist perfectly got used to the image of this sinister professor.

The main antagonist of the famous English detective Sherlock Holmes, Professor James Moriarty, is remembered by readers from the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle and from the films created based on them. He is the head of a dangerous criminal network operating throughout Europe, which is fought by the famous master of the deductive method. Who is he, the criminal genius of Europe, and did he have a prototype? Which actors portrayed his image on screen?

Prototype of a dangerous criminal

Arthur Conan Doyle took many of the character traits and appearances of the characters in his books from real life. Professor Moriarty also has several prototypes. According to researchers of the English writer’s work, the image of Holmes’s main opponent was mainly copied from Adam Worth, who in the 19th century was called the “Napoleon of the underworld.” This is precisely the characterization that the writer gave to Moriarty in his stories.

The real genius of the 19th century underworld - what are the similarities with

Worth's parents lived in Europe, but then emigrated to the United States. During the Civil War, Adam fought for the Union. After the end of hostilities, he began a criminal career and became a pickpocket. Very quickly, Worth became the leader of his own gang and began robberies. He was caught and sent to Sing Sing, one of the most terrible prisons. He safely escaped and returned to the criminal world. He became famous for robbing a bank in Boston, entering through a tunnel dug from a nearby store. Conan Doyle later used this story in his Sherlock Holmes stories. After the daring robbery, Worth fled to England, where he created a criminal network involved in robberies. He arranged things in such a way that none of the participants in his criminal schemes knew the face of their organizer. This is exactly how Conan Doyle described Moriarty - a man in the shadows who leads, through intermediaries, hundreds of his henchmen throughout Europe.

Worth's fate is extremely interesting. In the end, he himself came to William Pinkerton and told his story. Last years He spent a decent life with his children. Worth's son became a detective in the Pinkerton agency.

Which of Doyle's original stories features the evil mastermind of London's underworld?

It seems strange, but Sherlock Holmes's main opponent, Professor Moriarty, appears in only a few stories. "The Norwood Contractor" and "The Empty House" - in them, the famous detective and Dr. Watson solve crimes behind which their sinister enemy is behind. The criminal genius himself is not personally shown in them; Holmes only speaks about him as an organizer and compares him to a spider weaving a web.

And only in the story, which at one time caused a storm of indignation, in which the brilliant detective dies, Professor Moriarty finally appears before the readers. This is the story "Holmes' Last Case". With this work, Doyle wanted to put an end to the order of the detective who had bored him, but it caused a flurry of indignation. Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty were too colorful characters to just get rid of them. The detective beloved by readers had to be resurrected, but his main opponent was unlucky. Professor Moriarty died at the bottom of the Reichenbach Falls.

The best adaptations of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes featuring his main adversary

Throughout the history of cinema, there have been many film adaptations of stories about the great detective and his sworn enemy. But only a few were especially liked and remembered by the audience.

The 1980 Soviet television film “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson” is still considered one of the most successful adaptations of Doyle’s stories. The British themselves have repeatedly recognized the best Holmes of all times. From modern paintings big success had Guy Ritchie films. The British television series “Sherlock” and the Russian “Sherlock Holmes” are popular.

Who played Professor Moriarty? Actors and their incarnations

Bringing to life the role of the evil genius of London and Europe on screen is a difficult task. Arthur Conan Doyle gives a very definite villain. Professor Moriarty (photo can be seen below) had a thin face and White hair. Outwardly, he most resembled a priest. He had a fast, stilted speech.

In the Soviet film adaptation, Professor Moriarty is actor Viktor Evgrafov. He managed to convey the literary appearance of the criminal. Tall, thin, dressed in a black suit, he really looked like poisonous spider, always ready to jump.

In Guy Ritchie's second film about the adventures of the famous detective, viewers finally saw Holmes' main enemy. During the filming of A Game of Shadows, there were many rumors that Moriarty was actor Brad Pitt. In the first part, the director never showed the villain's face, which gave him the opportunity to choose any celebrity for this role. But Richie chose the British actor and was right. His performance of Moriarty turned out to be convincingly cruel and calculating. The audience is presented with the image of a brilliant mathematician, many moves ahead developing a plan of action and calmly removing unwanted witnesses. This is how Conan Doyle described the professor. And although Harris bears little resemblance to the description of Moriarty, he played the role entrusted to him brilliantly.

The 2003 adventure film “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” brought together the most famous characters from 19th-century books: Captain Nemo, Allan Quartermain, Tom Sawyer, Dorian Gray. Their opponent was the Phantom, under whose name Moriarty was hiding. He was played by Australian actor Richard Roxberg.

In the popular modern series Sherlock, Professor Moriarty is actor Andrew Scott. The opponent of Sherlock Holmes in his performance is very different from the classic image. He does not come from a noble family, possessing good manners, but the real villain is a psycho. This was intended by the creators of the series, who wanted to move away from clichés. They even transferred the action itself to our time. Another difference between Scott's Moriarty and the work of other actors is that he is very young.

In 2013, a Russian series about the adventures of the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, was released. The role of Professor Moriarty was played by Alexey Gorbunov.

Paradoxes of the film "Young Sherlock Holmes"

Actor Anthony Higgins played the sinister Professor Moriarty in this 1985 film. In 1993, he brought the already famous detective to life on the screen in the television series “1994 Baker Street: The Return of Sherlock Holmes.”

This is not the only case when an actor plays the role of ideological opponents in different films. a year before filming The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where he portrayed Professor Moriarty, he played Sherlock Holmes in the film The Hound of the Baskervilles.

James Moriarty in the works of other authors

The famous 19th-century criminal, invented and killed by Arthur Conan Doyle, was reborn in the books of other writers. Most interesting works, popular with readers, are the author Kim Newman. In them, the main character is not the famous detective, but Professor Moriarty. “The Hound of the D'Urbervilles” is one of the books in the series dedicated to the “Napoleon of the Underworld.” In it, he and his assistant, Sebastian Moran, solve complex riddles.

John Edmund Gardner is another author whose trilogy features Professor Moriarty. Finally, Anthony Horowitz, a popular writer, has written several works based on Doyle's stories. His last novel It's simply called "Moriarty".

Conclusion

The figure of the brilliant criminal, the sinister opponent of the famous detective, arouses no less interest than Sherlock Holmes himself. And thanks to the actors who wonderfully embodied his image on the screen, viewers can imagine what the “Napoleon of the Underworld” of the 19th century looked like - Professor Moriarty.

Professor Moriarty is a character in the series of works by Arthur Conan Doyle about Sherlock Holmes, the antagonist of the main character, the head of a powerful criminal organization, a genius of the criminal world.

He comes from a good family, received an excellent education and is naturally endowed with phenomenal mathematical abilities. When he was 21 years old, he wrote a treatise on Newton's binomial, which won him European fame. After this, he received a chair in mathematics at one of our provincial universities, and it is likely that a bright future awaited him. But the blood of a criminal flows in his veins. He has a hereditary tendency towards cruelty. And his extraordinary mind not only does not restrain, but even strengthens this tendency and makes it even more dangerous. Dark rumors spread about him on the university campus where he taught, and in the end he was forced to leave the department and move to London, where he began preparing young people for the officer exam...
- "Holmes' Last Case"

Holmes also speaks of Moriarty as "one of the finest minds in Europe" and the "Napoleon of the underworld". Conan Doyle borrowed the last phrase from one of the Scotland Yard inspectors associated with the case of Adam Worth, an international criminal of the 19th century who served as the prototype for the literary Moriarty.
In the text of "Valley of Terror" there is a description of Moriarty's appearance:

This man looks amazingly like a Presbyterian preacher, he has such a thin face, and gray hair, and stilted speech. Saying goodbye, he put his hand on my shoulder - like a father, blessing his son to meet the cruel, cold world.
- "Valley of Terror"

It is also mentioned that Professor Moriarty has a legal income of 700 pounds a year (a salary from a university department) and that he is not married. Information about Moriarty's name and family is contradictory: in “ The last thing Holmes" the professor is not named, but it is mentioned that he has a brother, Colonel James Moriarty, who after his death "defended the memory of his late brother." Moreover, in “The Empty House” the name “James” is attributed to the professor himself; thus, it literally turns out that the two brothers have the same name (in the four-act play "Sherlock Holmes", written with the participation of Conan Doyle, the professor already goes by the name "Robert"). In addition, in “Valley of Terror” the brother-colonel is not mentioned at all, but another one appears, younger brother professor who "serves as the boss railway station somewhere in the west of England."

Moriarty acts in only two works of the cycle, in the story “Holmes's Last Case” (1893) and the later story “The Valley of Terror” (1914-1915); in addition, he is mentioned in five stories: "The Empty House" (1903), "The Norwood Contractor" (1903), "The Lost Rugby Player" (1904), "His Farewell Bow" (1917), "The Illustrious Client" (1924) .

The character was introduced by Conan Doyle as a way to “deal with” Holmes in order to end the series, which the writer himself considered lightweight pulp fiction. Moriarty dies during a hand-to-hand duel with Holmes, falling off a cliff into the Reichenbach Falls; according to the text of the story, Holmes also dies with him; Both bodies have not been found. However, later, due to numerous protests from readers, Conan Doyle had to “revive” Holmes, declaring his apparent death a staged act, which was caused by the need to hide in order to defeat the remnants of Moriarty’s organization (see the story “The Empty House” in the collection “The Return of Sherlock Holmes”)

In the Soviet series “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson” by Igor Maslennikov, the role of Moriarty was played by Viktor Evgrafov (voiced by Oleg Dal). Among the performers of the role of Moriarty in films was Sir Laurence Olivier (in the 1976 film “Seven Percent Solution”).
Moriarty also appeared in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, but his face was not shown, and in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where he was played by Richard Roxberg.
In the film "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" the professor's face is still shown, moreover, he is an important character in the film.
In the 2010 series Sherlock, Moriarty first appears in such a way that neither the viewer nor the characters have any idea who he really is. He is clearly much younger in age than in the original book. Sherlock characterizes him this way in the episode “Reichenbach Falls”: This is not a man, this is a spider. He knows exactly where people's weak points are and when to hit them.
The asteroid (5048) Moriarty, discovered in 1981, is named after the character.
Both mentioned scientific works Moriarty (on the dynamics of an asteroid and on the interpretation of the binomial theorem) are sometimes mentioned in the scientific literature.

Sherlock Holmes considered mathematics professor James Moriarty to be the villain and genius of the underworld.
The professor wrote a treatise on Newton's binomial, was prone to cruelty, created a powerful criminal organization, died at the Reichenbach Falls without saying the last “forgive” to his sworn enemy.

The cinema, a big fan of contrasting good with evil and vice versa, could not help but respond and show Moriarty on the screen. If Holmes appeared in films in 1900 ("Sherlock Holmes Baffled", directed by Thomas Edison (according to other sources - Arthur Marvin), 30 seconds, not preserved), then Moriarty - just 8 years later.

Sherlock Holmes
Denmark, 1908.
Cast: Gustave Lund, Viggo Larsen (SH).
Some sources claim that the role of SH in this film was played by Alwin Neuss.
No photos of Lund found, let it be Viggo.

To consolidate success.
Sherlock Holmes II
Denmark, 1908.
Still the same.

A short break for 8 years and a couple more films.
The Valley of Fear
Great Britain, 1916.
Director: Alexander Butler
Cast: Booth Conway, H.A. Saintsbury (SH), Arthur M. Cullin (Dr.).
There are also problems with the photo of Conway, the play poster with the performer of the role of Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes
USA, 1916.
Director: Arthur Berthelet
Cast: Ernest Maupain, William Gillette (SH), Edward Fielding (Doctor)

Film titles are not very diverse.
Sherlock Holmes
USA, 1922.
Director: Albert Parker
Cast: Gustav von Seyffertitz, John Barrymore (SH), Roland Young (Doctor).
Here he is, the first Moriarty in the found photos.

The Final Problem
Great Britain, 1923.
Director: George Ridgwell
Cast: Percy Standing, Eille Norwood (SH), Hubert Willis (Doctor).
Shot with Holmes. Alas.

USA, 1929.
Director: Basil Dean
Cast: Harry T. Morey, Clive Brook (SH), H. Reeves-Smith (Doctor).

Sherlock Holmes" Fatal Hour / The Sleeping Cardinal
Great Britain, 1931.
Director: Leslie S. Hiscott
Cast: Norman McKinnel, Arthur Wontner (SH), Ian Fleming (Doctor).
The professor's name is Robert Moriarty.

Sherlock Holmes
USA, 1935.
Director: William K. Howard
Cast: Ernest Torrence, Clive Brook (SH), Reginald Owen (Doctor).
Moriarty's revenge. Holmes is getting married.

The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes
Great Britain, 1935.
Director: Leslie S. Hiscott

Murder at the Baskervilles/Silver Blaze
Great Britain, 1937.
Director: Thomas Bentley
Cast: Lyn Harding, Arthur Wontner (SH), Ian Fleming (Doctor).
20 years have passed since the death of the Dog and Sir Henry's daughter gets married. Next about the Silver horse.

USA, 1939.
Director: Alfred L. Werker
Cast: George Zucco, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce.

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
USA, 1943.
Director: Roy William Neill
Cast: Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce.
Lionel Atwill played Dr. Mortimer in 1939's The Hound of the Basquerilles.

The Woman in Green
USA, 1945.
Director: Roy William Neill
Cast: Henry Daniell, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce.

Sherlock Holmes und das Halsband des Todes / Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace / Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace
France-Italy-Germany, 1962.
Director: Terence Fisher, Frank Winterstein
Cast: Hans Söhnker, Christopher Lee (SH).

Une adventure de Sherlock Holmes
France, 1967.
Director: Jean-Paul Carrere
Cast: Grégoire Aslan, Jacques François (SH), Jacques Alric (Doctor).
A little-known film, not listed in almost any reference book.
Photos of actors from other films.

Elementary, My Dear Watson
Great Britain, 1973.
Director: Harold Snoad
Cast: Bill Maynard, John Cleese (SH), William Rushton (Doctor).
Episode "Comedy Playhouse".

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes" Smarter Brother
USA, UK, 1975.
Director: Gene Wilder
Cast: Leo McKern, Gene Wilder, Douglas Wilmer (SH), Thorley Walters (Doctor).

Sherlock Holmes in New York
USA, 1976.
Director: Boris Sagal
Cast: John Huston, Roger Moore (SH), Patrick Macnee (Doctor).

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution / Critical Solution / The Seven Percent Solution / Sherlock Holmes' Vienna Vacation
UK-USA, 1976.
Director: Herbert Ross
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Nicol Williamson (SH), Robert Duvall (Doctor).
Moriarty is a modest mathematics professor whom Holmes, in his morphine delirium, made into an evil genius.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Deathmatch
USSR, 1980.
Director Igor Maslennikov
Cast: Viktor Evgrafov, Vasily Livanov, Vitaly Solomin.
Viktor Evgrafov was voiced by Oleg Dal.

Sherlock Holmes
USA, 1981.
Director: Peter H. Hunt
Cast: George Morfogen, Frank Langella (SH), Richard Woods (Doctor).

Sherlock Holmes
France, 1982.
Director: Jean Hennin
Cast: François Maistre, Paul Guers (SH), Philippe Laudenbach.

The Baker Street Boys
Great Britain, 1983.
Director: Marilyn Fox
Cast: Colin Jeavons, Roger Ostime (SH), Hubert Rees (Doctor).
Colin Jeavons played Inspector Lestrade in the subsequent series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Meitantei Holmes
Japan, 1984.
Cartoon series with talking animals.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Great Britain, 1984-1985.
Cast: Eric Porter, Jeremy Brett, David Burke.

Of course, the series comes out afterwards" The Return of Sherlock Holmes". The actors are the same, except for the Doctor, played by Edward Hardwicke.

Young Sherlock Holmes
USA, 1985.
Director: Barry Levinson
Cast: Anthony Higgins, Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox.
In 1993, in Sherlock Holmes Returns, Anthony Higgins played the detective himself.

Without a Clue / Without a single piece of evidence
Great Britain, 1988.
Director: Thom Eberhardt
Cast: Paul Freeman, Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents. My Dear Watson
USA, 1989.
Director: Jorge Montesi
Cast: John Colicos, Brian Bedford, Patrick Monckton

Hands of a Murderer
Great Britain, 1990.
Director: Stuart Orme
Cast: Anthony Andrews, Edward Woodward, John Hillerman

The Hound of London
Luxembourg, 1993.
Director: Peter Reynolds-Long
Cast: Jack Macreath, Patrick Macnee, John Scott-Paget.

Star Trek: The Next Generation:
Elementary, Dear Data(1988)
Ship in a Bottle(1993)
Played by: Daniel Davis

Sherlock Holmes Returns
USA, 1993.
Director: Kenneth Johnson
Cast: Ken Pogue, Anthony Higgins (SH).

At this time, Moriarty appears in the animated series " Black cloak", "Batman", "Futu frame" and a couple of minor television projects.

Sherlock
USA-Romania-UK, 2002.
Director: Graham Theakston
Played by: Vincent D"Onofrio

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
USA-Germany-Czech Republic-UK, 2003.
Director: Stephen Norrington
Played by: Richard Roxburgh

Hello from fans
House M.D.
No Reason(season 2)
USA, 2006.
Director: David Shore
As Jack Moriarty: Elias Koteas

Sherlock Holmes- the main character of the stories, a consulting detective who uses the “deductive method”.

Dr. Watson

Dr. Watson- friend, assistant and biographer.

Mycroft Holmes

Mycroft Holmes

Inspector Lestrade

Inspector Lestrade- Scotland Yard detective. Most often of the police detectives appears in Doyle's works about Holmes. In the series by Igor Maslennikov, the role of Lestrade was played by Borislav Brondukov.

Inspector Bradstreet

Inspector Bradstreet- Scotland Yard detective.

Stanley Hopkins

Stanley Hopkins- Scotland Yard detective.

Irene Adler

Irene Adler- a woman appearing in the story "A Scandal in Bohemia". She managed to unravel Holmes's plan when he entered her house under the guise of a beggar, and escaped. Holmes considered this case his defeat (despite the fact that he achieved his main goal), and about Irene Adler said: “This woman.”

Tobias Gregson

Tobias Gregson- Inspector of Scotland Yard. Appears in the very first work about Holmes, “A Study in Scarlet”. Overall, Doyle makes Gregson seem more savvy than Lestrade. In the series by Igor Maslennikov, the role of Gregson was played by Igor Dmitriev.

Sebastian Moran

Sebastian Moran(born in , London) is the second most dangerous person in London after . Retired Colonel, former officer in Her Majesty's Indian Army. He served in the first Bangalore Engineer Regiment.

Son of Sir Augustus Moran, CBE, former British Minister to Persia. Graduated from Eton College and Oxford University. Participated in the Jowak, Afghan, Charasiab (diplomatic courier), Sherpur and Kabul campaigns.

Killed Sir Ronald Adair, attempted murder.

Professor Moriarty

James Moriarty the head of a powerful criminal organization. A genius of the criminal world.

He comes from a good family, received an excellent education and is naturally endowed with phenomenal mathematical abilities. When he was twenty-one, he wrote a treatise on Newton's binomial, which won him European fame. After this, he received a chair in mathematics at one of our provincial universities, and, in all likelihood, a brilliant future awaited him. But the blood of a criminal flows in his veins. He has a hereditary tendency towards cruelty. And his extraordinary mind not only does not moderate, but even strengthens this tendency and makes it even more dangerous. Dark rumors spread about him in the university town where he taught, and in the end he was forced to leave the department and move to London, where he began to prepare young people for the officer exam...

Mary Morstan

She first appears in the work “The Sign of Four”, as a client. Until the age of seventeen, she was brought up in a private boarding school in Edinburgh.

She was a very young girl, blonde, fragile, graceful, dressed with impeccable taste and wearing impeccably clean gloves. But in her clothing there was noticeable that modesty, if not simplicity, which suggests straitened circumstances. She wore a dress of dark gray wool, without any trimmings, and a small hat of the same gray tone, which was slightly enlivened by a white feather on the side. Her face was pale, and her features were not distinguished by regularity, but the expression of this face was sweet and inviting, and her large blue eyes shone with spirituality and kindness.